Mated to A Rival Alpha-Chapter 355: The Lonely Sound of Hope [1]

[RANIA]

The assembly hall was still packed with soldiers and warriors who were affected by the long war and it was obvious they had a long week ahead of them.

Time had passed but nothing was better for them because despite everything they did they were back at the same point. The tides may have turned in their favor and they had the winnings but nothing could compare to the agony of seeing their friends dead.

"Hello, warriors of Incayon. We went to war we won and now we are waiting for the possible retaliation. I know everyone is worried about what is going to happen to us now that Alpha Kim is unconscious.

"But do not fret because Incayon is safer than any other place in the realm right now," Dalrae said as she looked at the district worries in the room.

She knew it was not going to be easy for the worriers to get over this but she also knew that her sister would come back soon. Maybe that was also why she was a little too calm for a woman who had sworn vengeance.

She had seen death and faced it one too many times. She had been to warts alongside this team and she knew that she wouldn’t have it any other way. These people had given her a reason to hope and hold on.

They had shown her what it was to have family and to have love and hell be damned, she wasn’t going to let them get deeper into their depression. She loved them like any family would love their members.

She adored them.

She wanted them to be happy, they all wished for that. But that was a dream that they had to seek for times on end. That was something they had to hope for, despite everything that happened.

It was the one thing that they had figured out together and that was okay, because at the end of the day, they would have each other.

"The beta is saying something. Let’s listen," the tired warriors said to each other, making sure to wake their friends who had long given up in their sad hours.

They had been terribly affected by all that had happened and they were just hoping for the day when things would be better for them. They had a way out they always did, but right now, they seemed to be stuck in an alternate reality.

One in which they would have to fight and make way for, because, despite it all, they would have to function as a system.

They were the first responders of Incayon.

They were the protectors of their home and more than anything, they were the hope of their people and their land.

They were everything that anyone would have been proud of. But then a pack without their families on board, a pack that was so empty was doing a number on them. It was making them wonder what the fuck had happened to the realities that they had lived in.

They should have had a way out, an easier way out. But eight thousand dead warriors speak different languages.

"They are waking up, truly," Odelia marveled at the sight.

She hadn’t thought that this would be possible, but then Dalrae was their symbol of hope in times when Rania wasn’t home. Perhaps it would be worth it, but how long would it be before they were rippled and had to face their horrible truths again?

How long before their worlds would take the hit and they would go back to factory settings?

Maybe it was too long a gamble, but maybe, just maybe, this was the hope they had. The hope for a better home, a better family.

They could just hope that everyone would be fine.

At the voice of their better the warriors looked up, the hope in their eyes reminding the misfits of the peace they had fought for for years. This was what hope did look like on some days.

The brightening faces when Dalrae called out to them was worth nothing and they had to agree that there was progress. Good progress for them all. That much was obvious.

"I know we are all sad and I know the outcome has an effect on all of us however we could still bring back the happy spirit of Incayon. This is why until our general wakes up we are all going to pretend that it’s just another day in a pack.

"We will be playing games and trying to get back our gaming skills. because we all know our general is the butcher of truth and dare," Dalrae announced excitedly, and the warriors unexpectedly cheered her on excitedly.

Seeing her there with them did more than just give them hope because it was the assurance that everything was fine, and that Kim Rania was safe and doing better. They knew that she wouldn’t have been this happy if her sister wasn’t okay.

If anything, the Seto brothers would have burnt Incayon to the ground. And so, they listened as Dalrae gave them the rules of the game.

There were so many indicators of their better life and they couldn’t deny it either way. Hope was coming at them and they had no other choice than to embrace it. After all, what else could they do when they had to live such a life?

They had to try and hold on, for themselves, for their people and for the sake of everyone who believed in them. They had a war to fight but it was one that they didn’t have to go at alone.

They had people on their side and finally, that made life a little easier. Not the kind of easier they had hoped for, but it was what anyone like them could hold onto.

"Your mate really has a way of communicating with the warriors," Odelia said to Chang Wook as they watched Lim Dalrae interact with the warriors and convince them to get out of the assembly hall.

"She is a natural leader, Odelia," Chang Wook said with pride.

He knew that she would always be at her best, no matter what the fates sent her way, she was always going to be good, always going to try and make everyone feel better. And maybe that made her someone special, but then wasn’t she always his special girl?

What had seemed to be a heavy task had proven so simple for the woman of the people. She was in truth the perfect choice for a position she would never want.

And so, for the long day, Dalrae and her warriors faded into the background of a shadowed pain in which even the strongest were scared to face.

It was a momentary relief even as the sun shifted positions, while their shadows took new forms eventually disappearing when dusk came. Soon enough it was dinner time but no one had assembled back at the hall.

Instead, the misfits had joined in the chaos of a lifetime, bringing with them a different side that no one had seen since the Lunar trial at the people’s palace ten months ago.

They had re-defined happiness, lit up the lonely nights, brought with them the kind of joy that love came with, and the tranquility that came with a rested soul.

"I promise I’ll make it all better and make our home worth living in," a voice said in the distance.